Garment with configurable shoulder sections and attachment mechanisms

ABSTRACT

A garment with configurable shoulder sections is disclosed. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow the garment to be placed on a person&#39;s body without having to manipulate the person&#39;s arms and hands through the sleeves, or head and neck through a top opening. The garment also includes a finger-pocket snap attachment mechanism positioned on the shoulder sections.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/665,318, filed Feb. 4, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/159,131, filed Jan. 26, 2021, nowabandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/745,264, filed Jan. 16, 2020, now abandoned, which is related to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/392,512, filed Apr. 23, 2019, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates generally to garments, and,more particularly to garments with configurable shoulder sections andattachment mechanisms. The shoulder sections may generally be configuredin at least an open configuration and a closed configuration.

BACKGROUND

Garments such as pull-over shirts may sometimes be difficult to placeonto a human body. The garments may first need to be pulled over one'shead, and then the person may need to manipulate his/her arms into andthrough the sleeves. If the sleeves are somewhat tight or otherwisepositioned close to the body of the garment, this may be uncomfortableand sometimes even harmful.

In one particular example, garments designed specifically for infants,while very important to keep the baby warm and safe, are often timesdifficult to place onto the baby's body without having to bend orotherwise manipulate the baby's head, shoulders and arms to fit withinthe collar and the sleeves of the garment. Knowing that a baby's bodymay be extremely fragile and delicate, this may cause discomfort to thebaby and sometimes even damage to their body.

For example, placing a shirt or a onesie onto a baby may require theshirt or onesie to first be pulled over the baby's head. The neck of ababy may be very delicate and fragile such that this action must be donewith great care to avoid hurting the baby. Then, when the garment isgenerally around the baby's neck, the baby's arms must be bent, twistedand manipulated to pull them through the sleeves of the garment. Thisaction may be very unpleasant for the baby and may even cause damage tothe baby's arms, joints and internal ligaments. It can also be seen thatthis same potentially harmful scenario may also be true for any type ofperson, not just an infant.

In other examples, to secure the garments to the body of a baby, aparent has to use force on the baby's fragile and delicate body, such aspressing snap buttons together to close a garment.

Accordingly, needs exist for a garment that may be placed onto aperson's body in such a way that avoids the need to bend, twist orotherwise manipulate the person's body, and for attachment mechanismsthat provide an easy way to secure the garment without putting force onthe person's body.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a garment with configurable shouldersections. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at leastan open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow thegarment to be placed on a person's body without having to manipulate theperson's arms through the sleeves. The garment also includesconfigurable attachment mechanisms positioned on the shoulder sections,including a finger-pocket snap attachment mechanism.

In some embodiments, a garment may comprise a front side including atleast one lower flap positioned below at least one shoulder portion ofthe garment; a back side including at least one upper flap extendingfrom the back side; at least one attachment mechanism for attaching theat least one upper flap to the at least one lower flap; wherein the atleast one attachment mechanism includes at least one finger-pocket looppositioned on the at least one upper flap and sized to receive a tip ofa person's finger.

In some embodiments, a onesie may comprise a front side including atleast one lower flap positioned below at least one shoulder portion ofthe onesie; a back side including at least one upper flap extending fromthe back side; at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the atleast one upper flap to the at least one lower flap; wherein the atleast one attachment mechanism includes at least one finger-pocket looppositioned on the at least one upper flap and sized to receive a tip ofa person's finger. A lower front flap of the onesie includes at leastone attachment mechanism for attaching the lower front flap to a lowerback flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes atleast one finger-pocket loop positioned on the lower front flap andsized to receive a tip of a person's finger.

In some embodiments, a garment may comprise a front side including atleast one first flap; a back side including at least one second flap; atleast one attachment mechanism for attaching the at least one first flapto the at least one second flap; wherein the at least one attachmentmechanism includes at least one of a finger-pocket snap, a hook andloop, a magnet, a button and a zipper.

The configuration of the garments and attachment mechanisms describedherein in detail are only example embodiments and should not beconsidered limiting. Other configurations, methods, features andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will be or will becomeapparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the followingfigures and detailed description. It is intended that all suchadditional configurations, methods, features and advantages be includedwithin this description, be within the scope of the subject matterdescribed herein and be protected by the accompanying claims. In no wayshould the features of the example embodiments be construed as limitingthe appended claims, absent express recitation of those features in theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The details of the subject matter set forth herein, both as to itsstructure and operation, may be apparent by study of the accompanyingfigures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts. Thecomponents in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis insteadbeing placed upon illustrating the principles of the subject matter.Moreover, all illustrations are intended to convey concepts, whererelative sizes, shapes and other detailed attributes may be illustratedschematically rather than literally or precisely.

FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary garment with upper and lower flaps,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary garment with finger-pocket snapmaterial, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1C illustrates an exemplary finger-pocket snap material, accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1D illustrates an exemplary front side of a garment withfinger-pocket snap material, according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 1E illustrates an exemplary back side of the garment of FIG. 1D,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary garment in a closed configuration,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary garment in an opened configuration,according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary dressing operation stage, according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary dressing operation stage, accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present subject matter is described in detail, it is to beunderstood that this disclosure is not limited to the particularembodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to belimiting, since the scope of the present disclosure will be limited onlyby the appended claims.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a garment with configurable shouldersections. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at leastan open configuration and a closed configuration. This may allow thegarment to be placed on a person's body without having to manipulate theperson's arms through the sleeves. The garment also includesconfigurable attachment mechanisms positioned on the shoulder sections.The attachment mechanism includes at least one of a finger-pocket snap,a hook and loop, a magnet, a button and a zipper.

In some embodiments, the garment may prevent a user, e.g., a parent,having to manipulate a child's head, arms, legs, fingers into and out ofthe garment. The garment may go around the child, e.g., an infant, whilehe/she is lying flat starting from the feet and slid upward around thechild to be secured at the shoulders with an attachment mechanism, e.g.,a finger-pocket snap. This may allow for dressing and undressingefficiency, less physical and emotional disruption to the infant, lessfrustration for the infant and the parent, and foster a quicker andeasier way to partake in skin-to-skin time when feeding the infant. Insome embodiments, additional attachment mechanism may also be located atthe crotch area or the garment.

In some embodiments, the finger-pocket snap attachment mechanismdescribed herein may prevent the tedious nature of securing snaps on aninfant garment for people of all ages, sizes and abilities. It mayprevent putting force onto the body of the child to secure the snaps. Itmay also enable parents or caregivers with limited digital dexterity andlarge hands and/or fingers to more easily secure the garment on thechild. In some embodiments, the finger-pocket snap attachment mechanismmay include a finger-pocket loop (or finger-flap) that may foster aneasier way to connect snaps on an infant garment at the shoulder andcrotch seams. For example, instead of having to bend the seam over andaway from the child to secure the snap (e.g., to avoid placing force onthe child's body when connecting the snaps), a parent may simply slidehis or her finger into/under the finger-pocket loop (or fold-over flap)under/behind the snap button. When the parent is “snapping” the button,the force is transferred through to the finger under/behind thefinger-pocket loop, not on the body of the child.

Referring now to the drawings, garment 10, according to some exemplaryembodiments, is described with reference to FIGS. 1A-5 .

As shown in FIG. 1A, garment 10 may include an upper portion 100, alower portion 102, a body 104, an upper opening 106, a lower opening108, a top left shoulder portion 110, a top right shoulder portion 112,a front side 114 and a back side 116. Garment 10 may also include aninside area 117 that may be formed as the region between the front side114 and the back side 116. In addition, garment 10 may also include acollar 118 that may be formed as an upper portion of top opening 106.The upper left shoulder portion 110 and the upper right shoulder portion112 may also each include at least one upper flap 120 and at least onelower flap 122. That is, the upper left shoulder portion 110 may includeat least one upper flap 120 and at least one lower flap 122, and theupper right shoulder portion may also include at least one upper flap120 and at least one lower flap 122. It should be noted that in thisspecification, a single upper flap 120 and a single lower flap 122 oneach of the left and right sides of the garment 10 may be used as a mainexample. However, it should be noted that any number of upper and lowerflaps 120, 122 may be used on either the left or right shoulder portions110, 112 of the garment 10.

In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 120 may generally bemirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower flaps 122may generally be mirror images of each other. In some embodiments, theleft and right upper flaps 120 may not generally be mirror images ofeach other, and that the left and right lower flaps 122 may notgenerally be mirror images of each other, and that the flaps 120, 122may be formed of any type of different shapes and sizes.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 may generally be an upperextension of the back 116 of the garment 10. The flap 120 may be formedof the same material as the back 116 section of the garment 10 such thatthe upper flap 120 may simply extend up from the back 116 on the leftand right upper sides. In some embodiments, the upper flaps 120 may besewn or otherwise attached to the top of the back section 116 on theupper left and right portions of the garment 10. In this way, it can beseen that the upper flaps 120 and the back portion of the collar 118 maygenerally form the top of the back 116 of the garment 10. Otherconfigurations of the upper flaps 120 with respect to the back 116 ofthe garment may also be used.

In some embodiments, the lower flap 122 may generally be an upperextension of the front 114 of the garment 10. The flap 122 may be formedof the same material as the front 114 section of the garment 10 suchthat the lower flap 122 may simply extend up from the front 114 on theleft and right upper sides. In some embodiments, the lower flaps 122 maybe sewn or otherwise attached to the top of the front section 114 on theupper left and right portions of the garment 10. In this way, it can beseen that the lower flaps 122 and the front portion of the collar 118may generally form the top of the front 114 of the garment 10. Otherconfigurations of the lower flaps 122 with respect to the front 114 ofthe garment may also be used.

The top opening 106 of the garment 10 may be generally formed as thein-between space between the upper flaps 120 and the back portion of thecollar 118, and the lower flaps 122 and the front portion of the collar118. That is, the left and right upper flaps 120 combined with the backportion of the collar 118 may generally define and form the back side ofthe opening 116, and the left and right lower flaps 122 combined withthe front portion of the collar 118 may generally define and form thefront side of the opening 116.

The upper shoulder portions of the garment 10 may also be referred to asthe yoke of the garment 10 and that in this scenario, the yoke mayinclude the upper flaps 120 and the lower flaps 122, individually or incombination.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 may generally have two mainpositions, an upper position T and a lower position L. As shown in FIG.1A, the right upper flap 120 may generally be in an upper position T andthe left upper flat 120 may generally be in a lower position L. In thisway, the top left shoulder portion 110 and the top right shoulderportion 112 may be generally configured in at least an openconfiguration (e.g., when the upper flaps 120 are in the upper positionT) and in a closed configuration (e.g. when the upper flaps 120 are inthe lower position L).

With the upper flap 120 generally in an upper position T, the upper flap120 may fold forward in the direction of arrow A to transition from anupper position T to a lower position L. In addition, when generally in alower position L, the upper flap 120 may fold upward in the direction ofarrow B to transition from a lower position L to an upper position T.

In some embodiments, when the upper flap 120 is placed in a generallylower position L, a portion of the upper flap 120 may come into physicalcontact with a portion of the lower flap 122. This is shown in FIG. 1Awhere the left upper flap 120 is in the lower position L and isgenerally lying over a portion of the lower flap 122. In thisconfiguration, a portion of the inner surface 124 of the upper flap 120may generally overlay a portion of the outer surface 126 of the lowerflap 122.

With the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 in physical contact asdescribed above, the upper flap 120 and the bottom flap 122 maygenerally be attached or joined to one another in the area of theirphysical contact using one or more attachment mechanisms.

In this way, the combined upper flap 120 and lower flap 122 maygenerally form the upper shoulder portions 110, 112. The left upper flap120 combined and joined with the left lower flap 122 may generally formthe upper left shoulder portion 110, and the right upper flap 120combined and joined with the right lower flap 122 may generally formupper right shoulder portion 112.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122combinations (left and right) may include attachment mechanisms 127,which may include, for example finger-pocket snap material, hook andloop material, snaps, buttons, ties, zippers, magnets or other types orcombinations of types of attachment mechanisms 127 that may be used toattach and join the upper flap 120 with the lower flap 122 for eachcombination. In this way, the upper flap 120 may be attached and joinedto the lower flap 122 when it is folded downward into its lower positionL.

In some embodiments, the right upper flap 120 and right lower flap 122may each include one or more attachment mechanisms 127 that may includeat least one hook and loop section. For example, the upper flap 122 mayinclude a hook and loop section 128 and the lower flap 122 may includehook and loop section 130. When the hook and loop section 128 is hookmaterial, the hook and loop section 130 is loop material so that the twosections 128, 130 may mate and generally attach to one another. When thehook and loop section 128 is loop material, the hook and loop section130 is hook material so that the two sections 128, 130 may mate andgenerally attach and be joined to one another. When the upper flap 120is in the lower position L overlaying the lower flap 122, at least aportion of the hook and loop material section 128 may overlay at least aportion of the hook and loop material section 130 so that theoverlapping portions of sections 128 and 130 may attach and adhere toone another.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 120 may fold forward along an axisthat may be generally represented by line C in FIG. 1A. In someembodiments, the top edge of the lower flap 122 may generally followline C as well so that the upper flap 120 may generally fold forward anddown across the top edge of the flap 122. The top edge of the lower flap122 may be generally linear so that as the upper flap 120 folds acrossit, the fold in the upper flap 120 may also be generally linear suchthat the upper flap 120 may fold uniformly downward over the lower flap122.

The hook and loop section 128 and the hook and loop section 130 maygenerally be positioned in locations that may be mirrored with eachother about line C. In this way, when the upper flap 120 folds forwardalong line C, its hook and loop section 128 may rotate downward into aposition that may generally coincide with the position of the hook andloop section 130 that may be configured with the lower flap 122. This isdepicted as dashed lines in the upper left shoulder section of 110 ofthe garment 10 in FIG. 1A. In this configuration, the majority of thetop section 128 may overlap with the majority of the lower section 130,and that the respective sections 128, 130 may then be pressed togetherin order for the hook and loop material of each section to mate andadhere to one another. In this way, the upper flap 120 may be securelyattached to the lower flap 122 when in its lower position L. It shouldbe noted that the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 may each includemore than one hook and loop section 128, 130, and that the sections 128,130 may be configured in different positions, locations andconfigurations.

It should be noted and appreciated that, although FIG. 1A illustrates anexample of attachment mechanism 127 as hook and loop material, othertypes and numbers of attachment mechanisms 127 may also be used toattach the upper flap 120 to the lower flap 122 in a similar manner asdescribed above. For example, the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122may be attached to one another using one or more snaps, with at leastone side of the snap (e.g., the male side and/or female side) configuredwith the inner surface of the upper flap 120, and at least one of theother side of the snap (e.g., the female and/or male side) configuredwith the outer surface of the lower flap 122. As with the example aboveregarding using hook and loop material sections 128, 130 as theattachment mechanism, each side of the snap on the upper flap 120 andthe lower flap 122 respectively may be configured to generally come intophysical contact and mate with one another when the upper flap 120 isfolded forward into lower position L and the snap sections are pressedtogether.

In some embodiments, as depicted in FIGS. 1B and 1C, attachmentmechanism 127 may include finger-pocket snap material. In someembodiments, the finger-pocket snap material may include a finger-pocketloop 150 with a snap button first side 152 (e.g., a male side)positioned on the outer surface 154 of the finger pocket loop 150, and asnap button second side 153 (e.g., a female side). In some embodiments,at least one finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152may be positioned on the outside surface 126 of the lower flap 122, andat least one corresponding snap button second side 153 may be positionedon the inner surface 124 of the upper flap 120 to attach the lower flap122 to the upper flap 120. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1C, theloop 150 may be sewn onto the outside surface 126 of the lower flap 122in such a way to form an opening (or loop) 155. The loop 155 may besized to receive a tip of a person's finger 160. In some embodiments, asshown in FIG. 1B, the top edge proximity of the lower flap 122 (leftand/or right) may include two or more finger-pocket loops 150 positionedside-by-side, each may be sized to receive a tip of a person's finger.In this way, the left and right lower flap 122 may each include at leastone snap button first side 152 positioned on the outer surface 154 ofeach finger pocket loop 150. In this configuration, a portion of theinner surface 124 of the upper flap 120 (left and right) may beconfigured with at least one snap button second side 153 positioned onthe inner surface 124. Snap button first side 152 and snap button secondside 153 may be configured to generally come into physical contact andmate with one another, for example when the upper flap 120 is brought,e.g., folded downward, towards the lower flap 122 (as shown in FIG. 1B)and the snap buttons are pressed together. In some embodiments, the snapbutton first side may be a male side, and the snap button second sidemay be a female side.

FIG. 1C illustrates an exemplary operation where a user (e.g., a parent)may insert a fingertip into a finger-pocket loop 150 so that when thesnap button is pressed together, the pressure is on the fingertip, noton the body of the infant. It should be appreciated that the examplesdescribed above should not limit the scope of the disclosure in anymanner and that other configurations, and combinations of configurationare also within the scope of the present disclosure.

Advantages of the finger-pocket snap material may include, for example,preventing the tedious nature of securing snaps on an infant garment forpeople of all ages, sizes, and abilities. It may prevent putting forceonto the body of the child to secure the snaps. It may also enablecaregivers with limited digital dexterity and large hands/fingers tomore easily secure the garment on the child.

In some embodiments, the attachment mechanism 127 may include one ormore magnets used to attach the upper flap 120 to the lower flap 122 ina similar manner as described above. For example, the upper flap 120 andthe lower flap 122 may be attached to one another using one or moremagnets, with at least one magnet configured with the inner surface ofthe upper flap 120 (e.g., sewn into a fold of the material), and atleast one magnet configured with the outer surface of the lower flap 122(e.g., sewn into a fold of the material). As with the example aboveregarding using hook and loop material sections 128, 130, orfinger-pocket snap material as the attachment mechanisms 127, eachmagnet on the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 respectively may beconfigured to generally come into physical contact and mate with oneanother when the upper flap 120 is folded forward into lower position Land the flap sections are pressed or gently put together at the magnets.The magnetic poles of each magnet may be arranged such that the magnetsmay attract one another when in physical contact with one another asdescribed. In this way, the magnets may adhere to or otherwise hold oneanother thus attaching the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122together as desired.

Note that the descriptions above and the examples provided are meant fordemonstration purposes to benefit this description, and do not limit thepresent disclosure in any way. In addition, those of ordinary skill inthe art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, thatother configurations of the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 mayalso be used and configured with other numbers and types of attachmentmembers 127. For example, other attachment mechanisms 127 may includeone or more latches, hooks, zippers, buttons, and other types orcombinations of types of attachment mechanisms 127. In addition, theattachment mechanisms 127 may be configured in different positionsand/or in other combinations of positions as compared to the positionsdescribed in the examples above or below. It is understood that thescope of the garment 10 is not limited in any way by the type, types orcombinations of types of attachment mechanisms 127 that may be used.

It should also be noted that the upper flap 120 may be folded downwardalong other fold lines that may be different than fold line C in FIG.1A. For example, the upper flap 120 may be folded downward along a foldline that may be generally parallel to the x-axis as depicted in FIG.1A, and as depicted in the exemplary garment of FIG. 1C. In general, itshould be appreciated that the upper flap 120 may be folded downwardalong any position or fold line that may be in any direction withrespect to the x-axis and y-axis of the figure. Similarly, in theembodiments where the lower flap 122 may be folded upward, it should beappreciated that the lower flap 122 may be folded upward along anyposition or fold line that may be in any direction with respect to thex-axis and y-axis of the figure.

In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 120 may be formed asupper extensions of the front 114 of the garment 10 instead of the back116, and that the left and right lower flaps 122 may be formed as upperextensions of the back 116 of the garment instead of the front 114. Inthis example, the upper flaps 120, being formed in the front 114 of thegarment 10 may fold backwards and downwards instead of forward anddownwards as described in the examples above. The lower flaps 122 mayreside on the back 116 of the garments and may receive the upper flaps120 as they are folded backwards and downwards. In the example of thefinger-loop snap material, when the lower flaps 122 reside on the back116, the finger-pocket loop 150 may also reside on the back 116. Inaddition, all or at least some of the characteristics of upper and lowerflaps 120, 122 described with respect to the other examples in thisspecification also apply to this example.

In yet another example, the lower flaps 122 may extend upward such thatthe flaps 122 may be joined and attached to upper flaps 120 towards thetop of left and right upper shoulder portions 110, 112 without the needfor upper flaps 120 to be folded downward. In this example, upper flaps120 and lower flaps 122 may generally extend to substantially the sameheight and attach to one another at the top area.

It should be noted that none of the examples described above or in anyother sections of this specification limit the scope of the disclosurein any manner and that other configurations, and combinations ofconfigurations, of the upper flap 120 and the lower flap 122 withrespect to the front 114 and back 116 are also within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1A, with the left upper flap 120 configured and theleft lower flap 122 as described, the left side opening 132 may beformed. The left side opening 132 may be generally formed by the upperflap 120 and the lower flap 122 combination and may extend from outsidethe garment on the left side of the upper left shoulder portion 110 tothe inside 117 of the garment 10. In this way, the left side opening 132may form the opening of the left sleeve 134. It may be preferable thatleft side opening 132 be large enough to easily and comfortablyaccommodate the arm of the child or infant that may be placed into thegarment 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 1D and 1E, exemplary embodiments of garment 20 asa onesie are illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1D, garment 20 may include anupper portion 200, a lower portion 202, a body 204, an upper opening206, a lower opening 208, a top left shoulder portion 210, a top rightshoulder portion 212, a front side 214 and a back side 216. In addition,garment 20 may also include a collar 218 that may be formed as an upperportion of top opening 206. The upper left shoulder portion 210 and theupper right shoulder portion 212 may also each include at least oneupper flap 220 and at least one lower flap 222. That is, the upper leftshoulder portion 210 may include at least one upper flap 220 and atleast one lower flap 222, and the upper right shoulder portion 212 mayalso include at least one upper flap 220 and at least one lower flap222. It should be noted that in this specification, a single upper flap220 and a single lower flap 222 on each of the left and right sides ofthe garment 20 may be used as a main example. However, it should benoted that any number of upper and lower flaps 220, 222 may be used oneither the left or right shoulder portions 210, 212 of the garment 20.

In some embodiments, the left and right upper flaps 220 may generally bemirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower flaps 222may generally be mirror images of each other. In some embodiments, theflaps 220, 222 may be formed of any type of different shapes and sizes.

In some embodiments, the upper flap 220 may generally be an upperextension of the back 216 of the garment 20 on the left and right uppersides. In this way, it can be seen that the upper flaps 220 and the backportion of the collar 218 may generally form the top of the back 216 ofthe garment 20. Other configurations of the upper flaps 220 with respectto the back 216 of the garment may also be used.

In some embodiments, the lower flap 222 may generally be an upperextension of the front 214 of the garment 20 on the left and right uppersides. In this way, it can be seen that the lower flaps 222 and thefront portion of the collar 218 may generally form the top of the front214 of the garment 20. Other configurations of the lower flaps 222 withrespect to the front 214 of the garment may also be used.

In some embodiments, the garment 20 may include lower center front flap240 and lower center rear flap 242.

In some embodiments, garment 20 may include attachment mechanism 227using finger-pocket snap material as described above, having afinger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 (e.g., a maleside) and a snap button second side 153 (e.g., a female side). In someembodiments, as depicted in FIG. 1E, at least one finger-pocket loop 150with a snap button first side 152 may be positioned on the outsidesurface 226 of the upper flap 220, and (as depicted in FIG. 1D) at leastone corresponding snap button second side 153 may be positioned on theinner surface 224 of the lower flap 222 to attach the lower flap 222 tothe upper flap 220. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1E, the loop150 may be sewn onto the outside surface 226 of the upper flap 220 insuch a way to form an opening (or loop) 155. The loop 155 may be sizedto receive a tip of a person's finger (see also example in FIG. 1C). Insome embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1E, the top edge proximity of theupper flap 220 (left and/or right) may include two or more finger-pocketloops 150 positioned side-by-side, each may be sized to receive a tip ofa person's finger. In this way, the left and right upper flap 220 mayeach include at least one snap button first side 152 positioned on theouter surface 154 of each finger pocket loop 150. In this configuration,a portion of the inner surface 224 of the lower flap 222 (left andright) may be configured with at least one snap button second side 153positioned on the inner surface 224. Snap button first side 152 and snapbutton second side 153 may be configured to generally come into physicalcontact and mate with one another, for example when the lower flap 222is folded upwards, towards upper flap 220 and the snap buttons arepressed together. In some embodiments, the snap button first side may bea male side, and the snap button second side may be a female side.

In some embodiments, garment 20 may include, as depicted in FIG. 1D, atleast one finger-pocket loop 150 with a snap button first side 152 maybe positioned on the outside surface 244 of the lower center front flap240, and at least one corresponding snap button second side 153 may bepositioned on the inner surface 246 of the lower center rear flap 242 toattach the lower center rear flap 242 to the lower center front flap240. In some embodiments, the loop 150 may be sewn onto the outsidesurface 244 of the lower center front flap 240 in such a way to form anopening (or loop) 155. The loop 155 may be sized to receive a tip of aperson's finger (see also example in FIG. 1C).

It should be appreciated that various configurations described forgarment 10 herein may also apply to garment 20.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , the garment 10 with both the left and rightupper flaps 120 configured with their respective lower flaps 122 isshown. As shown, the left combination of the left upper flap 120 and theleft lower flap 122 may form the left opening 132 and the left sleeve134, and the right combination of the right upper flap 120 and the rightlower flap 122 may form the right opening 136 and right sleeve 138.While the left and right sleeves 134, 138 may be short such that theymay not extend out far past the left and right sides of the garment 10,the sleeves 134, 138 may be longer and may extend any length (e.g., fromsomewhat past to well past) past the left and right sides of the garmentrespectively. In this way, the sleeves 134, 138 may be formed into whatmay referred to as “short sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e., sleeves that mayextend a few inches past the left and right sides of the garment 10),“three quarter sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e., sleeves that may extend to justpast the elbow region of a person's arm who may be wearing the garment10, “long sleeves” 134, 138 (i.e. sleeves that may generally extend tothe wrist region of the person's arm who may be wearing the garment), aswell as other types of sleeves 134, 138.

It should be noted that the sleeves 134, 138 may be of any length,shape, size or style, and may utilize the left and right upper flap120/lower flap 122 combinations accordingly. Versions of longer sleevedgarment 10 may include the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 in the topleft shoulder portion 110 and the top right shoulder portion 112 of thegarment 10. That is, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may notnecessarily extend the full length of the longer sleeves 134, 138 butmay instead be generally located in the shoulder regions 110, 112 wherethe arms of the person wearing the garment 10 may be most difficult tomanipulate into the sleeves 134, 138. In this case, the portion of thesleeves 134, 138 in the areas that may extend out beyond the uppershoulder regions 110, 112 may generally include what may be viewed astypical sleeves (with an opening into the top of sleeve 134, 138 justbeyond the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 and a lower opening that maycoincide with the wrist region of the person's arm who may be wearingthe garment 10). In this way, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 mayperform as described in this specification in the areas that may be mostdifficult to manipulate the person's arm/shoulders into the garment 10,and in the areas beyond this area, the person's arm may be more easilyinserted into the outer areas of the sleeve through the top opening andout the lower opening. Note however that upper and lower flaps 120, 122may indeed extend a portion or the entire length of the sleeves 134, 138(of any length) as necessary.

Operation Example

Turning to FIGS. 3-5 , the use and general operation of the garment 10will now be described by means of example. In this particular example,the garment 10 may include a onesie garment generally used for babies orinfants. However, it will be appreciated that this example is only meantfor demonstration purposes and does not limit the scope of the garment10 in any way. It will also be appreciated that the garment 10 mayinclude other types of garments such as shirts, jumpers, one-piecesuits, shirts attached to leggings, and other types of garments. It isalso noted that the garment 10 may be used with any type of personincluding infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, adults,middle aged persons, senior citizens as well as any other type ofperson. Although garment 10 as shown as an example, garment 20 may beoperable in equivalent manner with its own configurations as describedherein.

As shown in FIG. 3 , garment 10 may have a front 114, a back 116, anupper opening 106, a lower opening 108, an inside 117, upper flaps 120and lower flaps 122. Note that the lower flaps 122 may be foldeddownwards in this drawing but this may not be required. It should beappreciated that the upper opening 106 and the lower opening 108 maypass into the inside 117 such that the inner cavity 117 of the garment10 may pass continuously from the upper opening 106 to the lower opening108. In this way, the garment 10 may be placed on the body of a person(e.g., an infant 400 or any other type of person) and the portion of theinfant's body that is meant to be covered by the garment 10 (e.g., thetorso of the infant 400) may generally be inserted (or positioned)within the inside 117 of the garment 10. This is depicted in FIG. 4 .The infant's left and right arms may be positioned generally above thelower flaps 122 and generally below the upper flaps 120. In this way,the left and right arms may be generally positioned in the area of theleft side opening 132 and the right side opening 136 respectively.

In some operations, the garment 10 may be placed on the infant 400 (orother person) by placing the feet of the infant 400 through the topopening 106 of the garment 10 and then pulling the garment 10 up andaround the infant's torso area as desired (for this particular type ofgarment). This may avoid having to place the garment 10 over theinfant's head area which may be preferable in order to avoid handlingthe infant's fragile neck, shoulders and head. However, given that thetop and bottom openings 106, 108 may be large enough to easilyaccommodate the infant's head and shoulders, in some operations, it maybe safe to place the lower opening 108 over the infant's head and pullthe garment 10 downward over the torso of the infant 400 as desired.Once the infant 400 is placed within garment 10 as depicted in FIG. 4 ,the lower flaps 122 may be folded upward in the direction of arrow D,and the upper flaps 120 may be folded forward and downward in thedirection of arrow A. In this way, the upper and lower flaps 120, 122may overlay the infant's left and right shoulder and upper arm region asdepicted in FIG. 5 . The upper flaps 120 and the lower flaps 122 may besecured together utilizing attachment mechanisms (e.g., finger-pocketloop 150 with snaps 152, 153, hook and loop material sections or otherattachment mechanisms) such that the left and right upper flap 120 andlower flap 122 combinations may form the left and right sleeves 134, 138respectively. Note also that the left and right upper flap 120 and lowerflap 122 combinations may form the left and right openings 132, 136respectively that may form the inner openings of the sleeves 134, 138.It may be preferable that the upper and lower flaps 120, 122 beconfigured in such a way that left and right openings 132, 136 and leftand right sleeves 134, 138 be of a size and shape that may easily andcomfortably receive and cover the infant's left and right shoulder andupper arm regions.

It is important to note that at no time during the placement of thegarment 10 onto the infant's body was there a need to bend, twist,handle or otherwise manipulate the infant's left and right arms into theleft and right sleeves 134, 138 since the upper and lower flaps 120, 122were configured around the infant's left and right arms to form thesleeves 134, 138 without any movement required of the infant's arms. Inthis way, the delicate and fragile arms of the infant are safe fromuncomfortable and potentially damaging manipulations into the sleeves134, 138.

To remove the garment 10 from the person's body, the reverse proceduremay be followed. The upper and lower flaps 120, 122 may be disconnectedfrom one another in order to open up the top of the garment 10. Thegarment may then be easily removed, again, without having to bend, twistor otherwise manipulate the person's arms, shoulders or neck.

Note that in this example of a onesie that may be used with a baby orinfant, the garment 10 may also include a lower center front flap 140and a lower center rear flap 146 that may be configured to generallyclose the lower opening 108 of the garment 10 around the infant's legand groin areas. The lower center front flap 140 and the lower centerrear flap 142 may each include attachment mechanisms 144 146 similar tothe attachment mechanisms used in relation to upper and lower flaps 120,122 (e.g., finger-pocket loop 150 and snaps 152, 153) to be secured toone another.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , the lower center front flap 140 may befolded downward and the lower center rear flap 142 may be folded forwardto be joined together in the area between the infant's left and rightlegs. In this way, the lower portion of the garment 10 may be generallyclosed such that the garment is secured to the infant's body. To openthe bottom portion of the garment 10 in order to remove it from theinfant's body, the lower center front flap 142 may be disconnected fromthe lower center rear flap 142 and the bottom opening 108 may be openedwide for the removal of the infant.

It should be appreciated that the exemplary operations described forgarment 10 herein may also apply to garment 20, with the lower flap 222folded upward and overlaid the upper flap 220.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

The publications discussed herein are provided solely for theirdisclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothingherein is to be construed as an admission that the present disclosure isnot entitled to antedate such publication by virtue of prior disclosure.Further, the dates of publication provided may be different from theactual publication dates which may need to be independently confirmed.

It should be noted that all features, elements, components, functions,and steps described with respect to any embodiment provided herein areintended to be freely combinable and substitutable with those from anyother embodiment. If a certain feature, element, component, function, orstep is described with respect to only one embodiment, then it should beunderstood that that feature, element, component, function, or step canbe used with every other embodiment described herein unless explicitlystated otherwise. This paragraph therefore serves as antecedent basisand written support for the introduction of claims, at any time, thatcombine features, elements, components, functions, and steps fromdifferent embodiments, or that substitute features, elements,components, functions, and steps from one embodiment with those ofanother, even if the following description does not explicitly state, ina particular instance, that such combinations or substitutions arepossible. It is explicitly acknowledged that express recitation of everypossible combination and substitution is overly burdensome, especiallygiven that the permissibility of each and every such combination andsubstitution will be readily recognized by those of ordinary skill inthe art.

In many instances, entities are described herein as being coupled toother entities. It should be understood that the terms “coupled” and“connected” (or any of their forms) are used interchangeably herein and,in both cases, are generic to the direct coupling of two entities(without any non-negligible (e.g., parasitic) intervening entities) andthe indirect coupling of two entities (with one or more non-negligibleintervening entities). Where entities are shown as being directlycoupled together or described as coupled together without description ofany intervening entity, it should be understood that those entities canbe indirectly coupled together as well unless the context clearlydictates otherwise.

While the embodiments are susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific examples thereof have been shown in thedrawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood,however, that these embodiments are not to be limited to the particularform disclosed, but to the contrary, these embodiments are to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritof the disclosure. Furthermore, any features, functions, steps, orelements of the embodiments may be recited in or added to the claims, aswell as negative limitations that define the inventive scope of theclaims by features, functions, steps, or elements that are not withinthat scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment comprising: a front side including at least one lower flap positioned below at least one shoulder portion of the garment; a back side including at least one upper flap extending from the back side; and at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the at least one upper flap to the at least one lower flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes at least one finger-pocket loop positioned on the at least one upper flap and sized to receive a tip of a person's finger.
 2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the at least one finger-pocket loop includes at least one snap button first side positioned on an outside surface of the at least one finger-pocket loop.
 3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the at least one lower flap includes at least one snap button second side positioned on an inside surface of the at least one lower flap.
 4. The garment of claim 3, wherein the at least one snap button first side is joined with the at least one snap button second side to attach the at least one lower flap and the at least one upper flap.
 5. The garment of claim 2, wherein the at least one snap button first side is a male side.
 6. The garment of claim 3, wherein the at least one snap button second side is a female side.
 7. The garment of claim 1, wherein the at least one finger-pocket loop is positioned near a top edge of the at least one upper flap.
 8. The garment of claim 1, wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes two finger-pocket loops positioned side-by-side.
 9. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is one of a onesie, a shirt, a jumper and a one-piece suit.
 10. The garment of claim 1, wherein when the at least one lower flap and the at least one upper flap are not attached, a top opening is formed and sized to receive a body of a person.
 11. A garment comprising: a front side including at least one first flap; a back side including at least one second flap; and at least one attachment mechanism for attaching the at least one first flap to the at least one second flap; wherein the at least one attachment mechanism includes at least one of a finger-pocket snap, a hook and loop, a magnet, a button and a zipper.
 12. The garment of claim 11, wherein the at least one first flap and the at least one second flap are positioned at a shoulder portion of the garment.
 13. The garment of claim 11, wherein the finger-pocket snap includes a finger-pocket loop positioned on the at least one first flap and the finger-pocket loop is sized to receive a tip of a person's finger.
 14. The garment of claim 13, wherein the finger-pocket loop includes a snap button first side positioned on an outside surface of the finger-pocket loop.
 15. The garment of claim 14, wherein the at least one second flap includes a snap button second side positioned on an inside surface of the at least one second flap.
 16. The garment of claim 15, wherein the snap button first side is joined with the snap button second side to attach the at least one first flap and the at least one second flap.
 17. The garment of claim 11, wherein the garment is one of a onesie, a shirt, a jumper and a one-piece suit.
 18. The garment of claim 11, wherein when the at least one first flap and the at least one second flap are not attached, a top opening is formed and sized to receive a body of a person.
 19. The garment of claim 11, wherein the finger-pocket snap includes two finger-pocket loops positioned side-by-side.
 20. The garment of claim 12, wherein the at least one attachment mechanism is positioned near a top edge of the shoulder portion of the garment. 